High grade pre cancerous cells, I'm petrified. Please talk to me

[Midnightsbecomemyafternoons]

I've just had a call regarding my most recent smear, I have to go to have a biopsy etc next Thursday. High grade dyskaryosis.

I'm shaking. I have three small children, one is disabled and one just a baby.

Please, can you offer me some words of reassurance from personal experience or even anecdotally.

I have terrible health anxiety and this is my worst nightmare. I can't stop crying.

Posting here shamelessly for traffic.

What happened with me, was that when they did the colposcopy, they put a sort of dye on the cervix which shows the abnormal cells. Apparently she said before this, that if it wasn't too bad, it would just be biopsy - I think my initial results were moderate grade, but with the dye, they were actually high grade and they did the lletz there and then.

Lots of super helpful information here thank you so much. I've made a list of the questions I have that I'll ask when I go in on Monday. My brain goes to mush under pressure and I don't want to leave without mentioning the things I have here.

Thinking back to my smear, if the nurse had seen anything untoward on my cervix she would have mentioned it wouldn't she? That also feels like a positive sign, as in whatever is there isn't so bad that it's causing visible changes - and visible changes are when you're in trouble so to speak?

I definitely won't be opting to watch the procedure on the screen, I'm not good with anything graphic 😬

Oh also - I had a couple of transvaginal (sp?) scans during my most recent pregnancy in the early weeks (he's just turned 1 so not a million years ago) and nothing was mentioned about my cervix then either so things must have looked OK then too.

Same as previous posters - had same findings as you when my second one was 8 months old. I was absolutely terrified, but the cells were removed one afternoon and here I am many years later without a single occurrence since. Haven’t given it any more thought, tbh

Am in a similar boat, though mine has come back low grade, colposcopy in two weeks . Last smear was as a couple months after I met my partner , all clear for hpv . He did cheat and we worked through it , but yea as you say. A kick in the teeth.

Smear tests only test for hpv. If negative they don't look any further. If positive then they take a look at the cells. As for hpv laying dormant yes it can, as in symptoms but if you have it then you will test positive .

I had thIs. Three small children.
Had them removed and was told they only just got them in time. Thought I was going to die.
However I'm now in my 50s.

HPV virus can take a long time to develop. You could have caught it from a previous partner . It's not necessarily due to your partner cheating

Good luck with your treatment

💐❤️ for every one of you who have gone through this, similar, or worse (confirmed cancer itself)

I'm trying really hard to focus on the positives of which there are many, early detection, the NHS moving quickly dispite how much its struggling at the minute, the statistics swaying in my favour etc.

parlour it's really shit isn't it? I've taken heart from what PP's have said about it not being a definite that it came from him as a result of his affair, but I can't help but wonder. I'm sorry you've gone through the same and now going through the same with the smear results now. Sending you strength and luck for your upcoming procedure 🤞

The cheating thing is a myth , unless both of you never had previous partners and I'm talking about absolutely no sexual activity not just intercourse. There's a strong chance you have HPV anyway it reactivates when your immune system can't clear it so you might have caught it from your first teen boyfriend. You can't really blame your DH for this although he's a twat.

There’s a study that was done on VIRGIN WOMEN and some had HPV despite never having touched a man. It has been ruled in the scientific community that HPV diagnosis is not and can never be an indicator of infidelity.

The thought of having had the HPV for years is really daunting. Obviously I'm glad it's not something I can attribute to being cheated on, but to think it's been there changing cells for a long time is quite scary. I think I'd prefer it was a recent infection 😔

I've just got my smear results in the post, better late than never 😁

It elaborates on the call a little more, it says I have high-grade moderate dyskaryosis if that makes any difference?

I'm sure the coloscopy nurse said severe, is there a difference?

Yes, I had this when I was 28ish - cells removed and regular smears after. I’m now 47 and it has never reoccurred. I’m certain it will be similar for you so try not too worry too much - these are precancerous cells and when treated effectively should not progress.

Moderate could mean cin 1 or cin 2 but they cannot tell until you have a Colposcopy and biopsy to check. Mine said high grade severe dyskaryosis I had patches of CIN 2 and CIN 3.

It's nothing to worry about I'd focus on boosting your immune system alongside treatment. When the body fights the HPV it goes back to being dormant as it was before. I've had chicken pox as a small child . When I was 25 I was rundown and I developed shingles it was the virus reactivating. If you have had chicken pox the virus is still there it's just dormant.

My diet isn't fantastic at the minute I could definitely do with making some healthier choices less chocolate and more fruit & veg, supplements etc.

The chicken pox comparison makes perfect sense.

As I now understand it the HPV is alot like the herpes virus too, always there but isn't problematic until it flares up.

Yep same with cold sores that appear. Just take good care of yourself you will be ok 💐im nearly 4 weeks post treatment I've stopped bleeding and I feel fine.

Hope these messages have been reassuring, OP. Just want to add: although HPV can be spread through sex, it can also spread through other non-sexual ways. As a PP said, having it does not mean that your DP has been unfaithful (or, in your case, that he passed it on to you as a result of his affair) and it doesn't necessarily mean that you got it through having sex with him or anyone else either.

In which other ways can HPV be spread that are non sexual? It's not something we can pass on to our DC through every day contact is it?

These replies have been super helpful and I'm feeling less stressed and better informed than yesterday for sure.

I'm really pleased so many of you have had successful treatments and can get on with your lives again 🙂

healthclinics.superdrug.com/what-is-hpv/#:~:text=You%20can%20be%20infected%20with,cause%20transmission%20of%20the%20virus.
Ghastly bloody thing like herpes and Epstein Barr. There's research being done now about Covid lingering on like the other viruses.

Oh lovely, I have the full house now then.

I've had Epstein Barr in the form of glandular fever.

Diagnosed with HSV type 1.

Two bouts of shitty covid

..and now I discover I'm HPV positive to boot.

Eek I'm a literal petri dish.

I had this op, has a laser procedure (possibly lletz it was called?) and it was removed. A few check up smears later and that was it. This was almost 20 years ago and thankfully I’m still fine. Try not to worry x

As before thank you all so much you've really helped get me through the weekend without losing sleep.

I've been looking into that AHCC supplement, there's a big discrepancy in prices across different brands so I haven't a clue which to go for or if there is a difference in quality.

Can anybody here recommend a particular one?

I'm going to try my GP surgery first thing to see if I can get 1 diazepam tablet in time for the procedure tomorrow. I'm not good with gynae stuff after a traumatic birth and have seen a few people suggest it so hopefully they can help🤞

The day has come 😬

Very nervous at the minute. I did want to ask my GP for 1 diazepam tablet to get me through the procedure as I'm almost guaranteed to have a panic attack (I take propranolol for those) but I wouldn't be able to get a call back in time.